Prince Philippe de Gonzague decides to get rid of his cousin, Philippe de Nevers, whose wife and fortune he covets. Nevers is, secretly, the husband of Isabelle de Caylus who gave him a daughter, Aurore, a year before. Gonzague charges Peyrolles, his damned soul, to act. But, on two occasions, a chivalrous gentleman, Henri de Lagardère, comes to lend a hand to the prince......
Lagardère whose motto is:"if you don't come to Lagardère,Lagardère will come to you" ; it was the second version of Paul Féval's swashbuckler ; the theatrical performances have not aged well ,but considering the means of the era, it's entertaining ,in spite of a somewhat desultory screenplay : too bad that the fireworks in the regent's palace were filmed in black and white ;the action takes place in the Sun King/Louis the Fifteenth interregnum .
Three more versions were made afterwards. Jean Delannoy's was eminently forgettable,but André Hunebelle's had the best Lagardère (Jean Marais ,1959) and Philippe De Broca 's the best Gonzague (Fabrice Luchini ,1997);
